- UK business confidence turns positive for the first time in two years.
- Australia July vehicle sales -6.9%.
- China July copper imports fall 23%.
- Thailand Q2 GDP +2.3%.
- Asian Stockmarkets off to a flier, Nikkei currently up 3.4%.
- Gold steady at 953.50
- Talk of MAS intervention, USDSGD supported under 1.4370.
It was a “risk on” day, with good demand seen for Yen crosses and Asian stockmarkets getting off to a flying start for the week. EURJPY opened just below 135.40 and was bid all day. Good demand was seen heading into the Tokyo fix and that demand continued throughout the day. EURJPY headed to 136.00 but failed to break thru first time. However, with the Nikkei soaring over 3.3%, only a shallow retracement was seen and with good buying interest of USDJPY by US names in the afternoon, EURJPY eventually took out the 136.00 level and triggered stops in the process.
EURUSD remained trapped in a narrow range with EURJPY demand providing support and expectations that sovereign names will continue to sell rallies, limiting any move up.
AUDUSD moved higher, on the back of solid demand for AUDJPY. Option barriers at 84c were tripped but only managed to trade up to 8411 before lower into the 90’s for the rest of the day.
Ranges:
EURUSD 1.4328 – 1.4359
GBPUSD 1.6499 – 1.6546
USDJPY 94.34 – 94.89
EURJPY 135.30 – 136.08
AUDUSD 8360 – 8411
Goodluck,
Sam
